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| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on May 17 amid weak global trends and unabated foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 185.42 points to 73,478.30. The NSE Nifty dipped 50.35 points to 22,353.50.

Among the Sensex components, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro and Bajaj Finserv were the major laggards.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and UltraTech Cement were the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai were quoting lower while Hong Kong traded in the green.

Wall Street ended in the negative territory on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹776.49 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.25% to USD 83.48 a barrel.

On Thursday, the BSE benchmark climbed 676.69 points or 0.93% to settle at 73,663.72. The NSE Nifty surged 203.30 points or 0.92% to 22,403.85.

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| Photo Credit: MUSTAFAH KK

The rupee opened on a flat note against the U.S. dollar in early trade on May 17, weighed down by a negative trend in domestic equities and the strength of the American currency in the overseas markets.

Forex traders said the Indian rupee underperformed among the Asian currencies amid higher imported commodity prices and foreign fund outflows amid worries about election results.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit moved in a narrow range. It opened at 83.50 against the American currency and touched 83.49 in the initial trade.

On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 83.50 against the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was at 104.61, higher by 0.15%.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.26% to USD 83.49 per barrel.

“Indian rupee was again sold off despite gains in other Asian currencies on Thursday and closed at RBI-controlled level of 83.50,” said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

Bhansali further noted that the rupee is likely to trade in a narrow range of 83.45 to 83.55 during the day.

On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 196.15 points, or 0.27% lower at 73,467.57 points. The broader NSE Nifty was down 44.00 points, or 0.2%, to 22,359.85 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth ₹776.49 crore, according to exchange data.

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| Photo Credit: Reuters

Benchmark equity indices bounced back in early trade on May 10 amid firm global market trends and buying in ITC and Reliance Industries.

Recovering from the sharp decline in the previous trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 203.52 points to 72,607.69 in early deals. The NSE Nifty went up by 83.7 points to 22,041.20.

From the Sensex basket, ITC, Axis Bank, NTPC, JSW Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries were the biggest gainers.

Infosys, HDFC Bank, HCL Technologies and Larsen & Toubro were the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong were trading with gains while Shanghai quoted lower.

Wall Street ended in positive territory on Thursday.

“Gains in overseas markets are likely to help local benchmark indices register gains in early trade on Friday after yesterday’s sharp sell-off,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd said in his pre-opening market comment.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.55% to USD 84.34 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,994.86 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Declining for the third day running, the BSE benchmark dropped 1,062.22 points or 1.45% to settle at 72,404.17 on Thursday. The NSE Nifty dived 345 points or 1.55% to 21,957.50.

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Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on April 25, giving up their gains of last four days, amid heavy selling in Kotak Mahindra Bank and foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 296.79 points to 73,556.15. The NSE Nifty dipped 97.15 points to 22,305.25.

From the Sensex basket, Kotak Mahindra Bank tanked over 12% after the RBI barred the company from onboarding customers online and issuing credit cards.

Cracking down on repeated non-compliance of IT norms, the RBI on Wednesday barred Kotak Mahindra Bank from onboarding new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and issuing fresh credit cards with immediate effect after the regulator found “serious deficiencies” in the lender’s IT risk management.

Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Titan, Maruti and Mahindra & Mahindra were the other major laggards.

Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, Nestle and State Bank of India were among the gainers.

In the last four days, the BSE benchmark climbed 1,363.95 points or 1.88%.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo were quoting lower while Shanghai and Hong Kong traded in the positive territory.

Wall Street ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.02% to USD 88.04 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,511.74 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark climbed 114.49 points or 0.16% to settle at 73,852.94 on Wednesday. The NSE Nifty advanced 34.40 points or 0.15% to 22,402.40.

Equity benchmark indices tanked in early trade on April 19, taking their losing streak to the fifth day running, as escalating tensions in the Middle East weighed heavily on investors’ sentiment.

Fresh foreign fund outflows, uptick in Brent crude oil prices and decline in IT stocks also added to the overall weak sentiment in equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 672.53 points to 71,816.46. The NSE Nifty dropped 218.2 points to 21,777.65.

From the Sensex basket, Infosys declined over 2% after the company’s revenue growth guidance for FY25 failed to meet market expectations.

The company expects a revenue growth of 1-3% in constant currency for FY25 and an operating margin of 20-22%.

“Infosys guided for 1-3% constant currency revenue growth for FY25, missing expectations,” as per a report by JM Financial Institutional Securities.

Axis Bank, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services and Nestle India were the other major laggards.

ITC and HDFC Bank were the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were quoting in the negative territory.

Wall Street ended mostly lower on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 2.27% to USD 89.09 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹4,260.33 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

“Reports of the feared escalation of the Iran-Israel tensions have spooked the markets. Distinct weakness in Asian markets and sharp cuts in US futures reflect heightened nervousness in equity markets,” said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, the 2024 Lok Sabha polls kicked off on Friday with the beginning of polling for the first phase.

The BSE benchmark tanked 454.69 points or 0.62% to settle at 72,488.99 on Thursday. The NSE Nifty declined 152.05 points or 0.69% to 21,995.85.